Shaving device



April 7- J. A. HANLEY i I 2,077,367

SHAVING DEVICE Aug 11 NVENTOR Patented Apr. 13, 1937 UNlTED STATESPATENT orrlcs SHAVING DEVICE John A. Hanley, Stamford, Conn, assignor,by

mesne assignments, to Clipshave, Inc., a corporation of New York IApplication August 11, 1934, Serial No. 739,432

10 Claims.

ing, abrading or otherwise injuring even the most tender skin and whichgives an exceptionally 10 close shave due to the fact that it isinherently adapted for severing the hair at a point below the smallcircular mound of skin which rounds it. 1

Objects of the invention are to provide a surcut-

5 ting apparatus of this type characterized by simplicity ofconstruction, ease of manipulation, ruggedness and durability in use; toprovide a device consisting of but few parts, which is devoid oftensioning springs or any parts apt to be broken or bent by carelesshandling; and to vide a device which cannot become clogged DIO- with

hair during the shaving operation and is highly sanitary and eflicientin use, light in weight and inexpensive to manufacture.

operated razor utilizing apairpf ciprocating toothed shear plates.

relatively re- A feature of the invention is the use of means on oneplate which guards the skin from contact with the operative edges of thecutters.

Such means is preferably formed by turning 'over the ends or" the teethon one cutter member. These bent over teeth are devoid of corners orprojections. They ride on the surface of the skin and act'to depressthesmall mounds of flesh which encircle each whisker, and insure a closeout without injuring the skin.

Another feature of the invention is the use of two shear plates formedof relatively light gauge stainless steel, the plates beingautomatically selftensioning as the cutter is pressed into engagementwith the skin and but lightly tensioned 1 when the driving motor isidling, to the end wear on the cutter is minimized.

that

' Another feature is the provision of shaving devices partlcularly wellsuited for womens use and for surgical purposes in removing the hairfrom various parts of the body preparatory to making an incision.

The provision of a removable, simply constructed cutter head which canevice plate,

Another feature of the invention is the use of a hair cutter which willcut either long hair or short hair or stifi hair or soft hair with equalexpedition.

Another feature is an arrangement of shear teeth having interdentalspaces of critical area as compared with the area of the teeth in orderthat the two sets of coacting teeth may be in relatively "openhairreceiving position over comparatively long periods of time. This isin direct contradistinction to the use of teeth which are in closed orpartially closed position over relatively longtime intervals and therebyblock the entry of hair and retard the speed at which the cutter may bedrawn over the skin and still operate efiiciently.

The invention may be more fully understood from the followingdescription in connection with the accompanying drawing whereln:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an electrically operated razor embodyingthe invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional, view taken approximately onthe line 22 of Fig. l,

Fig. 3 is a similarly enlarged view taken at right angles to Fig. 2 onthe line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig.4 is a plan'view of the movable cutter plate,

Fig. 5 is a similar view oi the fixed cutter Fig. 6 is a considerablyenlarged fragmentary plan view showing the teeth of the movable cutterplate,

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the teeth of the fixed cutter plate,

Fig. 7a is a view similar to Figs. 6 and 7 but showing the two cutterplates superimposed,

Fig. 7b is an enlarged sectional detail on the line lb-1b of Fig. 7d.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken approximately onthe line 8-8 of Fig. I,

Fig. 9 is a View similar to Fig. but illustrating a modification,

Fig. 10 is a reduced side elevational view of a modified form of cutter,Fig. 11 is an enlarged plan view of the fixed cutter plate of thiscutter,

Fig. 12 is a considerably magnified view through a section of skinshowing the manner in which a hair projects through the skin poreswithout being attached to the skin at the surface, but being encircledby a small mound oi. flesh at the surface,

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 12 but illustrating the her. which myimproved razor de presses this mound and severs the hair below the topof the mound, and

Fig. 14 is a similar view showing the relationship of the remaininglength of hair to the mound. As suggested above, the reciprocatingcutter may be manually operated if desired, or any suitable motive meansmay be employed for effecting reciprocation of the cutter. In Fig. 1, Ihave shown a typical motor casing member indicated generally at In, thiscasing member including a portion ll of uniform rectangular crosssection extending throughout more than half of the length of the casing.The portion ll constitutes a handle and beyond portion l I all foursides of the casing taper as indicated at I2 toward the cutter headwhich is mounted on the flattened smaller end of the casing.

A lead wire l3 supplies current to motor (not shown) housed within thecasing.

The cutter head includes the movable cutter plate l4, stationary cutterplate. l5 and keeper bar I6. The periphery of the head is smaller thanthe cross section of the main casing section II so that the head willnot touch a supporting surface when the casing is laid upon suchsurface. With this in view it is of course desirable that the center ofgravity of the motor be such as to cause the casing to rest on therectangular section I I so that there will be no tendency for the casingto rock on any of the shoulders defined by the juncture of the outerfaces of section II and tapered faces l2. Thus the danger of bending thecorners of the cutter head structure is avoided since no part of thecutter head will touch the supporting surface, regardless of which sidethe casing may be laid upon.

The details of the general arrangement of the two cutter plates andkeeper appear more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3. A pair of headed studs [1project from the end of the motor casing l0. These studs may beconveniently molded into the casing if desired, and between the studs isan opening H3 in the casing through which projects the end of anoperating lever l9 engaging in a center opening 20 in the reciprocatingcutter plate l4, riding near its side edges on rails Ifla (Fig. 3)integral with casing l0. Lever I9 is motor operated in any suitablefashion and reciprocates the cutter l4 back and forth across the reducedflat end of the casing I0. In this movement the cutter is guided by thestuds l1, being provided with elongated slots 2| to receive the studs.Plate I4 is of flat thin gauge stainless steel, suitably stamped andformed to-provide the central aperture 20, the slots 2| and, along bothsides thereof, a series of cutting teeth 22 which will be more fullyhereinafter described.

The stationary cutter plate I5 is also of thin gauge stainlesssteeL'preferably of the same gauge as themovable cutter l4. It isslightly bowed in cross section; it is provided with a pair of circularopenings25 to receive the studs l1 and may, if desired, be provided witha central opening 23 to provide clearance for the lever I9. The teeth 24which are arranged at the sides of this cutter plate are longer than theteeth 22 (roughly twice as long) so that the free ends of the teeth 24may be bent over as indicated at 2411 (Fig. 8) to aflford arcuate guardmembers protecting the skin from contact with the points of the teeth22.

The head assemblage is secured in position by the longitudinally bowedkeeper bar l'6. This member ispreferably of slightly heavier stock thanthe two cutter plates and is more rigid than the cutter plates. It isformed with a pair of an electric 2 keyhole slots 26 therein whichengage with the heads of the studs H. In applying the keeper bar, arelatively light tension is exerted on thebowed stationary cutter platel5 but-this tension is insuflicient to exert any material pressure onthe over-riding teeth 24, 22 of the two cutter plates. This is.important because by verydightly tensioning the plate I5, the majorportion of the tension on the reciprocating cutter is applied by thepressure of the fixed cutter against the skin.

Therefore when the razor is removed from the skin with the motorrunning, there will be very little wear on the cutter plates and verylittle load on the motor. By having plate I4 rest only near its edges onnarrow rails Illa at the endof casing III the plate l4 responds readilyto thetension exerted on plate I5. I i

In Figs. 6, 7 and 8 I have illustrated in greater detail theconstruction of the teeth of the two cutters. As seenin Fig. 6, theteeth 22 of the movable cutter blade are of generally triangular shapein plan view, tapering toward their outer ends. The teeth taper from topto bottom as indicated at 22a (Fig. 7b) s6 that their shearing edges aredefined by two surfaces meeting at an .acute angelg.

The us f shearing teeth which are bevelled at their shearing edges isadvantageous in that it eliminates any tendency to clog. The shearingprinciple does not depend upon a keen edge. and in theory a right angleedge will shear satisfactorily but there is less tendency to clog therazor with hair when shearing plates having acute shearing angles areused.

I have found that the best results are obtained by making theinterdental spaces between these teeth approximately twice as great inarea as the teeth themselves. On the other hand the bentover teeth 24 ofthe stationary cutter which likewise taper toward their, outer ends andhave tapering .edge surfaces at 24b are preferably at least equal inarea to the interspaces between them and are preferably of greater areathan the spaces between them.

This relation of tooth size to the size of the interdental space isimportant. Insofar as teeth 24 are concerned, ,it is desirable that theybe spaced apart merely a sufficient distance and be of sufficient depthto conveniently receive hair between them, without permitting the skinto enter between them and be pinched or'cut. The teeth 22need only be ofsuflicient width to insure the mechanical strength necessary to cuthair. The wider the space between the cutting teeth, the greater theopportunity for a hair to enter the space between adjacent teeth 24without being blocked by the presence of a tooth 22. In other words, innormal reciprocation, the periods of time when spaces between teeth 24are open to receive hair, are increased by decreasing the area of theteeth 22 with respect to the area of their interdental spaces. With theparticular arrangement shown these spaces are fully open at both ends ofthe stroke of the movable plate l4 as will be apparent from Fig. 7a.

' Fig. 9 illustrates a modification of the form of the teethof Figs. 6and 7. Here, teeth 32 of the fixed cutter corresponding to teeth 24 aresimilarly turned over at their ends and each has one substantiallystraight edge 33 and one relatively sharply inclined edge at 34. Therelatively straight sides of the teeth 32 coact with the relativelystraight sides of corresponding teeth 32a in the movable cutter plate.With this form of tooth but little relative movement of the cutters isrequired to effect the shearing action.

Fig. 10 illustrates a modified type of motor casing 35 of generallyL-shape and with a cutter head 36 secured on the flat inclined surface31 at the shorter arm of the L. With this form of the invention,'thecutter head will be provided with cutting means at only one edge. Atypical stationary cutter used for this form of the device isillustrated in Fig. 11 and designated bythe referance numeral 38. p a

In Fig. 12, the numeral 40 represents the human skin and ii a pore inthe skin. A hair 42' projecting from. this pore is unattached to theskin at the surface but it is anchored by its root or follicle 43 whichlies somewhat below the surface of the skin, at the base of the pore.The hair is encircled by a minute mound 44 of skin.

Fig. 13 shows the manner in which the rounded bent over ends 24a of theteeth 24 depress this mound and permit the hair to be cut at a pointwhich is actually below the normal surface of the mound, Fig. 14illustrating the severed hair and showing that a very close out has beeneiTected.

Neither ordinary safety razor blades, nor hollow ground razors, nor anyother type of cutter mechanism with which I am familiar is capable ofaccomplishing such a close cutting action without the danger ofscratching or abrading the skin or otherwise causing injury ordiscomfort.

Observation of the sets of cutter teeth of Figs. 6 and 7 indicateclearly that the severed lengths of hair will fallout from between thecutter teeth since there is no place else for them to go and there is nodanger of the cutter teeth being clogged with hair. In practice I findthat the cutter works equally well regardless of the stiffness orsoftness of the beard and regardless of the length of the heard. Thecutter working very close to the skin severs the hairs close to'or belowthe skin and they drop or are kicked out of the way by the furthermovement of the cutting teeth.

The present invention makes practicable the use of thin flexiblestainless steel plates as shaving devices. In this connection it is tobe borne in mind that most of the art of razor and blade making has beendirected to the perfection of keen shaving edges, andstainless orrustless steel is inherently incapable of being worked and sharpened toproduce sucha keen edge. Insofar as prior developments of dry shaversare concerned, these devices have been generally of two classeseitherattempted modifications of standard hair clippers using heavy rigidshearing plates, hardened, ground and reduced to thin sections at thepoints (making it impossible to provide guard means such as those of thepresent invention), or the so-called dry shavers have been of suchcomplex construction that stainless steel could not be satisfactorilyworked into the odd-shaped parts required. l

By the present invention using but three simpie parts of thin relativelyflexible stainless steel, I provide a rust-proof structure, and dispensewith the hardening and plating operations with a consequent saving inmanufacturing cost which for the first time makes it possible to sell arazor working on the shearing principle at a cost com.- parable to thecost of the ordinary safety razor and at a cost which is far below thatof any socalled dry shaver or shearing device heretofore known.

The actual shaving elements themselves, that is'the two cutter plates,may be manufactured at but a fraction of the cost of previous shearingtype shavers.

While I have shown no specific means for actuating the cutter structureeither manually or from a motor, it will be understood that varioustypes of motors might be utilized as well as the type illustrated in mycopending a plications Serial No. 746,500 filed October 2, 19 4, andSer. No. 757,755, filed December 17, 1934 and that various types ofactuating mechanism for ordinary hair clippers might, with or withoutslight modification, be utilized for actuating the cutters; Such handoperated devices (capable of complete and expeditious sterilization) areparticularly well suited for hospital use in close shaving long' hairsfrom various parts of the body. Ordinarily such hairs do not grow insuch profusion as the hairs on the face and they can be removed withsumcient expedition by a. hand operated tool, whereas the motor operated'type is found preferably for.

shaving a heavy beard due to the increased speed drawing shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. P

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:--

l. A hair cutter including a pair of superimposed thin cutter plates,each having shearing devices at one edge, one plate having edge portionscurved outwardly around the thickness of the shearing devices of theother plate to. guard the skin against injurious contact with the shearing devices and to efiect depression of the skin in advance of thecutting operation.

2. A hair cutter assembly including a pair of relatively thin gaugestainless steel plates arranged in superimposed relationship, each platehaving shearing teeth at one edge, means for reciprocating one of theplates, said plates being substantially self-tensioning when pressedagainst the skin, the roots of the shearing devices of the two platesbeing at substantially equal distance from the lateral edge of theassembly.

3; A hair cutter including a pair of relatively thin gauge stainlesssteel plates arranged in superimposed relationship, each plate havingshearing teeth at one edge, means for reciprocating one of the plates.one of said plates being bowed at its center, whereby it isself-tensioning when the edge of the plate is pressed against the skin,one plate having edge portions curved outwardly around the thickness ofthe shearing devices of the other plate to guard the skin againstinjurious contact with the shearing devices and to effect depression ofthe skin in advance of the cutting operation.

s. A hair cutter including a pair of superimposedthin cutter plates,each having shearing teeth at one edge, the teeth of one plate havingtheir ends curved outwardly around the thickness of the teeth of theother plate toward the skin against contact with the ends of the ambientteeth 7 and to effect depression of the skin in advance of the cuttingoperation, and means for reciprocating,one of the plates.

5'. A hair cutter including a pair of relatively thin gauge stainlesssteel plates arranged in superimposed relationship, each plate havingshearing teeth at one edge, means for reciprocating one of the plates,the teeth of the relatively fixed plate being bent into arcuate formjust far enough beyond the ends of the teeth of the movable plate toprevent abrasion of the skin by the teeth of the movable plate.

6. A hair cutter including a pair of superimposed thin cutter plates,each having shearing teeth at one edge, the teeth of one plate havingtheir ends curved outwardly around the teeth of the other plate to guardthe skin against contact with the ends of the unbent teeth and to effectdepression of the skin in advance of the cutting operation, and meansfor reciprocating one of the plates, the fixed plate being relativelybowed, means retaining the plates in superimposed position under lighttension and said plates being capable of further tensioning by pressureof the fixed plate against the skin.

'7. A hair cutter including a handle, a fiat support member at one endof the handle, a thin flat cutter plate reciprocable over the face ofthe support, studs rising from the support and guiding the movement ofthe cutter plate, a cooperating fixed cutter plate and a keeperremovably plate to afford guards and present rounded at at least oneedge, the relatively fixed plate being transversely bowed, whereby thetension between the cutter plates may be increased by pressing the edgeof the skin-contacting plate against the skin, the teeth of the bowedplate extending substantially the entire length of the teeth of themovable plate and having protruding ends curved around the teeth of themovable skin engaging surfaces.

8. A hair cutter including a handle, a'fiat support member at one end ofthe handle, a thin flat cutter plate reciprocable over the face of thesupport, studs rising from the support and guiding the movement of thecutter plate, a cooperating fixed cutter plate and a keeper removablycourse of operation.

held in position by the studs and pressing the fixed cutter plateagainst the movable cutter plate, said plates having coacting shearingteeth at at least one edge, the relatively fixed plate beingtransversely bowed, whereby thetension between the cutter plates may beincreased by pressing the edge of the skin-contacting plate against theskin, the teeth of the bowed plate extending substantially the entirelength of the .teeth of the movable plate and having protruding endscurved around the teeth of the movable plate to afford guards andpresent rounded skin engaging surfaces, both cutter plates being formedof relatively light gauge stainless steel.

9. A cutter including a pair of relatively reciprocable superimposedcutter plates, each plate having shearing teeth at one edge thereof,slidable against the shearing teeth on the adjacent plate, oneof saidplates being relatively fixed and the teeth thereof being adapted toengage the skin during the cutting operation, the teeth of said platehaving areas at least equal to the interdental spaces at the edge of theplate, the teeth of the movable plate having areas approximately half asgreat as the areas of the interdental spaces in the edge of such plate,and the entire length of the teeth on the movable plate engaging theteeth of the fixed plate in the course of the operation.

10. A-cutter including a pair of relatively reciprocable superimposedcutter plates, each plate having shearing teeth at one edge thereof,slidable against the shearing teeth. on the adjacent plate, one of saidplates being relatively fixed and the teeth thereof being adapted toengage the skin during the cutting operation, the teeth of said platehaving areas at least equal to the interdental spaces at the edge of theplate, the teeth of the movable plate having areas approximately half asgreat as the areas of the interdental spaces in the edge of such plate,the teeth of the fixed plate extending substantially the entire lengthof the teeth of the movable plate and having protruding reversely curvedarcuate ends disposed beyond the ends of the teeth of the movable plateand adapted to engage the skin, and the entire face area of .the teethon the movable plate engaging the teeth of the fixed plate in the JOHNA. HANLEY.

